Internet-enabled appliances and devices are becoming increasingly prevalent. For example, dishwashers, refrigerators, light bulbs, stoves, baby monitors, and even juice squeezers may incorporate network functionality to enable users to interact with their appliances and devices from nearly anywhere. These appliances and devices are frequently controlled through mobile applications that control the device, and rely on wireless network connectivity to receive instructions from end users. Such devices and appliances may be colloquially referred to as “Internet of Things” or “IoT” devices. Manufacturers of such devices frequently fail to secure devices that they produce. For example, an internet-enabled baby monitor may have a master password hard-coded into its software. One example of the dangers posed by improperly secured and/or protected internet-enabled devices can be found in the 2016 cyberattack that compromised a large number of IoT devices as part of a distributed denial of service attack against the DYN Domain Name System (DNS).
While such devices may present vulnerabilities, increasingly savvy end users may be able to take steps to preemptively address problems posed by malfunctioning, compromised, and/or vulnerable devices (e.g., by removing or replacing the device) if they are able to locate the physical device. Unfortunately, a new homeowner may be unaware of what devices are in their home, much less of the locations of such devices. The instant disclosure, therefore, identifies and addresses a need for systems and methods that guide users to network-enabled devices.